13 GAMABA (Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan Awards) Awardees

GINAW BILOG
Date Awarded: 1993
Origin: Panaytayan, Oriental Mindoro
Artistry: poet
The Mangyan script is one of the four remaining syllabic scripts in the country, and
Ginaw Bilog’s work has been crucial to its preservation. He was considered as a master of the
Ambahan (a metaphoric poem comprising seven-syllable lines) poetry.

MASINO INTARAY
Date Awarded: 1993
Origin: Brookes Point, Palawan
Artistry: musician and storyteller
A member of the Pala’wan tribe, Masino Intaray was a prolific and pre-eminent epic
chanter and story teller recognized for his outstanding mastery of various traditional musical
instruments of the Palaw'an people- such as basal, kulilal, a lyrical poem expressing love, and the
bagit, an instrumental piece about nature.

SAMAON SULAIMAN
Date Awarded: 1993
Origin: Mama sa Pano, Maguindanao
Artistry: musician
Musician Samaon Sulaiman was a master of the kutyapi, a two-stringed lute that requires
highly technical skill to play. He was also proficient in playing instruments such as the kulintang,
agong (a suspended gong with a wide rim), gandingan (a gong with a narrow rim), and tambul.
Sulaiman’s fascination for his craft led him to become an influential teacher.

LANG DULAY
Date Awarded: 1998
Origin: Lake Sebu, South Cotabato
Artistry: textile weaver
Lang Dulay was a T'boli traditional weaver of "tinalak" or T'boli cloth made of colorful
abaca fabrics. As demand grew for new designs, she persisted and kept working with traditional
patterns, even though they were harder to complete. She valued purity, so much so that she never
washed her t’nalak with soap.

SALINTA MONON
Date Awarded: 1998
Origin: Bansalan, Davao Del Sur
Artistry: textile weaver
 Salinta was a Tagabanwa-Bagobo traditional weaver of distinct abaca fabrics called
inabal. Her favorite pattern, despite or because of its difficulty, was the binuwaya (crocodile),
and she continued weaving until her death in 2009.

ALONZO SACLAG
Date Awarded: 2000
Origin: Lubungan, Kalinga
Artistry: musician and transitional dancer
He was a Kalinga Master of Dance and the performing arts who mastered not only the
Kalinga musical instruments but also the dance patterns and movements associated with his
people’s ritual. It was through observation, time, and experience — rather than education or
training or any kind — that Alonzo Saclag learned local musical instruments and dance patterns.

FEDERICO CABALLERO
Date Awarded: 2000
Origin: Calinog, Iloilo
Artistry: epic chanter
Epic chanter Federico Caballero of Calinog, Iloilo was best known for his expertise in the
Sugidanon, a Central Panay epic traditionally chanted while lying on a hammock, and his work
in the preservation of oral literature, documenting 10 Panay-Bukidnon epics in an extinct
language with close ties to Kinaray-a.

UWANG AHADAS
Date Awarded: 2000
Origin: Lamitan, Basilan
Artistry: musician
Uwang Ahadas was a Yakan musician who is a master of the kwintangan, kayu, and
tuntungan instruments. He is also dedicated to sharing his knowledge to younger folk; his
teaching style is hands-on and supportive, giving his students his full attention.

DARHATA SAWABI
Date Awarded: 2004
Origin: Parang, Sulu
Artistry: textile weaver
The Tausug weaver’s primary creation was the pis siyabit — the traditional cloth tapestry
worn as a head cover, pis stands for the pattern, which is said to be derived from India’s
mandala, depicting spirituality through geometric forms, and siyabit refers to the hook and
technique. She gained recognition for the precision of her work and her passion for preserving
traditional designs, as well as teaching the youth.

EDUARDO MUTUC
Date Awarded: 2004
Origin: Apalit Pampanga
Artistry: metalsmith
 Mutuc was an artist from Apalit, Pampanga who has dedicated his life to creating
religious and secular art with exquisitely detailed and lifelike pieces of varying sizes: altars,
mirrors, retablos, and even carosas. using silver, bronze, and wood.

HAJA AMINA APPI

TEOFILO GARCIA
Date Awarded: 2012
Origin: San Quintin, Abra
Artistry: Casque Maker
Through word of mouth and his participation in the annual local harvest festival, Garcia
was able to introduce the tabungaw plant as a good and sturdy material for functional, elegant,
and protective hats. He produces everything he needs — planting and harvesting the gourds,
splitting and refining rattan for the lining, and weaving nito and bamboo for accents himself —
and usually takes seven days to finish a hat.

MAGDALENA GAMAYO
Date Awarded: 2012
Origin: Pinili, Ilocos Norte
Artistry: textile weaver
Gamayo’s skill and instinct are none more apparent than they are in her ability to
replicate designs she’s only seen once. Her binakol, or woven cloth, continues to draw praise and
awe for its above-average thread count and uniform weave. To keep Ilocos’ abel weaving
tradition alive, she teaches her practice to her cousin’s daughter-in-law and sister-in-law.